i didn't take any offense offense i just wanted to say hope isn't lost. the flat rate system is not adequit by any means. just thought of this by the way. unplug your crank sensor and see if you get a cel back. if powers and grounds are good at the pcm (including the ignition sw feed) then unplug your sensors and switches to make sure one of them isn't shorted and taking the pcm with it. if it still won't wake up and you have all of your powers and grounds then i'd say go with the pcm. junk yard pcms are just that but you may find one for testing to see if symptoms change any.

also im sorry to hear about your son.

my geuss is that they pinned you as not having money or wanting to spend it. that happens alott.
im also sorry if i sounded offended. i just hate how some bad eggs ruin the bunch and fealt like i should say that some of us are good guys.

 

I just went through the same thing, try hitting the outer fender where the CPU is mounted I accidently found that this vibration was causing my CPU to shut off. Heres the link with the video showing it shutting off.

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...-my-truck.html

 

Thanks to those who have responded. Because of the lousy weather I have not mesed with the truck. I intend to try again soon. The only ground I have not checked is the one going to the back of the head. I have checked the two black with brown stripes ground wires to the PCM and they were good. I do feel this problem is an open ground but so far cannot find it. If it is an open ground then disconnecting the sensors would not show the problem. If there is a short then that should restore CEL, I hope. Anyway, still a mystery. Will keep looking.

 

not to doubt you but I did the same as you including a new computer ! recheck the little wire under the fuse box under the hood I missed a little wire smaller then lead in a pencil didn't think it mattered and by looking at it,it was ok cut and respliced it and magically it worked try this BEFORE you hook up new pcm . then check wires under truck around trans to make sure they didnt get stripped and grounding out burned up a brand new pcm cause of them My Grandaughter got killed at 16 4 yrs ago so I fell for ya! God Bless

 

hey helpless i just rand across this prob on a 98 durango 5.9 at work. pull the first connector (towards firewall) and take of the plastic cover on the back of. find some pins (like sewing pins) and backprobe 30 and 31. on the top towards the front when plugged in. they are the black/tan ones. turn the key on and see what you have for a ground then. you should show full batt volts when you check for ground with key on. that is if you have the neg on the ground wires in question and the other lead on batt +. if you show a volt or more low then snip those wires and run a new ground. of course solder and heat shrink. i had to put a pcm in the durango at work (burned inside of connector) but you may not. when it's dead see if your asd relay is dead aswell. it's turned on by the pcm. you have to be losing a power or ground somewhere if your sensors are ok and most of the time they pop a fuse (except for o2 sensors and crank sensors most of the time). good luck man.

 

9652 dakota, thanks for your suggestions. One of the first things I did was to check #30,#31 and both brown with black stripe grounds. big boy, thanks to you also. I have battery out and windshield washer bottle out and am going to strip all of the harnesses and re-do all the splices. If you could describe the little wire you mentioned, it might help me. What color? I have never run into anything as frustrating as this problem. A friend who is a Nissan tech came over with his scanner and the scanner would not read. He spent several hours trying to find the problem and like all of us who have tried,,, failed. The search goes on.

 

Im almost sure it is black directly under fuse box with the harness I had 2 chevy techs with meters and such could not figure it out eather while he was hooking up meter to something i was rechecking wires there and felt it, it felt good but soft and . i shook my head and figured what the heck cut it spliced it hit the switch and wa la ran like a top because of all the new parts freak accident i found it but it feeds something in the pcm i had current going to the pcm but not out of it let me know if i can help more

 

correction ( GOT SIDE TRACKED) i had current going to the distributor but not out of it I think if i can help any more let me know and i can send pics if it makes it easier.

 

Another 8 hours of searching. Split the harnesses on driver side, stem to stern. 12 volts minimum , before and after all splices. CEL and Gen. lights do no come on. If I ever find what circuit to check maybe then the truck will start. Fuel pump works, all dash lights work, bat. gauge works, fuel gauge works,, everything works except CEL and Gen. light. I have 3 PCMs ( a long story).Same symptoms with all 3 PCMs. I would keep checking but now I have run out of things to check.

 

So let me get this right. Everything works except those two lights and the truck wont start. Is there any fault that would cause the engine light to come on when running?

If the engine does not start have you tried something as simple as moving your shifter back and forth? My truck does that sometimes. I get full power to everything but no start. The tranny safety switch will not allow the truck to turn over. But you should still see the lights come on when before or just when the truck starts.

I may be way off but might also be worth throwing in there... will have to think about this issue. I like challenges lol.

Also Im guessing you downloaded and read the factory service manual? I haven't read all the posts completely in this thread... yet... lol